Alice Moore

All my life, my greatest desire has been to gain recognition—not as a "silver-fur from a small pack," but as a respected healer, and a mate who is more than just a name on a mating bond.
I once thought that in the cold Blackmane Pack, I could find a glimmer of hope through Lucian's gentle courtship and the elders' recognition of our fated mate bond. But when I walked into the Moon Gathering, all I saw was him dancing with Mira under the full moon, while pack members whispered, "She will never be our Alpha female." Mira even stepped closer, her voice laced with malice: "Everyone is hoping he forgets about you... and so am I."
Betrayal, isolation, the shattering of all illusions. On the night after the coronation ceremony, I huddled in the corner of the cave, tears soaking the animal hide. Yet I still clung tightly to my herb house and persisted in my healing work—even though Lucian treated me like a stranger.
But fate loves to rub salt in wounds. Once, when I followed the hunting party to gather silver-leaf grass, Mira "accidentally" pushed me into the icy river. I watched Lucian leap into the water, only to swim straight toward her, leaving me to cling desperately to the rocks alone. His voice was as cold as the river water: "Seraphina! Hold on!"
My fingers tightened around the slippery stone, but my heart was colder than the river itself. Did our mate bond really mean nothing to him?

I thought the ring hidden in Shakespeare's Sonnets meant forever, until I found the coordinates scrawled in Crime and Punishment.

For two years, Marcus played the perfect fiancé. He kissed me among the dusty shelves, calling me his "wholesome little bookworm," while using my mother's legacy to pass secret codes. I was just his cover. His innocent front.

Curiosity led me to Pier Seven, hoping for answers. Instead, I saw the monster beneath the mask. I watched him put a bullet in a man's head without blinking, wiping the blood off his hands like it was nothing. He isn't a lover; he's a killer. And now that I know his secret, I have to run before I become the next "accident."